ABS announced it has been granted the Network, Applications and Gateway Operator licenses to serve Papua New Guinea (PNG) from the National Information and Communications Technology Authority (NICTA). The licenses awarded will allow ABS to operate as a telecom operator as well as a satellite service provider.

After a programme review completed in September, ESA is now in a position to proceed with the full development of its Ariane 6 and Vega C launch vehicles. Following this review, the representatives of the ESA Member States unanimously voted in favour of continuing the Ariane 6 programme.

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The U.S. Government has granted Moon Express, Inc. (MoonEx), permission to travel beyond Earth’s orbit and land on the Moon in 2017. This decision provides authorisation to Moon Express for a maiden flight of its robotic spacecraft onto the Moon’s surface.

Following an in-depth review, the European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Arianespace by Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL), a joint venture between Airbus and Safran. This approval is subject to conditions.